New Delhi: During the 68th National Film Awards ceremony, President Draupadi Murmu presented the Most Film-Friendly State Award to Madhya Pradesh Culture Minister Usha Thakur.
Madhya Pradesh, which also received the award earlier, beat out 12 other states for the most film-friendly state award. Led by director-producer Vipul Shah, a 10-member jury, made up of eminent filmmakers and film personalities from across Indian cinema, had announced the awards in July 2022.
The award was given for efforts undertaken by the state, providing services as well as facilities such as on-time permits, police assistance, local and ground support and also making filming locations easily accessible .
This year, there are 50 categories with over 300 feature films and 150 non-feature films competing for the awards. There are 30 different languages in the movies.
Besides President Shah, the jury members included Cinematographer Dharam Gulati, Nationally acclaimed Bengali actor Sreelekha Mukherjee, Cinematographer GS Bhaskar, A Karthikraaja, VN Aditya, Viji Thampi, Sanjeev Rattan, S Thangadurai and Nishigandha.
Meanwhile, according to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, before the announcement, the president and other members of the jury called Union Minister Anurag Thakur and presented him with the selections for the awards. (ANI)
